Adjustable beds are sometimes colloquially termed as ‘hospital beds’ & whilst they are used in Hospital (Acute) environments they can also assist with care needs at home as well.

Before choosing an adjustable bed it is sometimes best to speak to a care professional, for example an Occupational Therapist. Occupational Therapists work with people of all ages with varying physical and mental capacities and they can be found through the College of Occupational Therapists in the UK here:

 

Functions and features are something to consider on an adjustable bed, features such as tilt & anti-tilt (Trendelenburg & Anti-Trendelenburg) are useful for medical reasons and for personal reasons such as being able to watch TV or speak to visitors in a comfortable position.

Another feature that may be of use is the ability to adjust the height of the bed to prevent injury from falls or to enable a safe working height for carers to carry out care procedures.

It is also worth considering what features may not be of use now but could be in the future so as to mitigate against any future expensive replacements such as castor wheels to be able to move the bed easily around the room/house.

 

As with any purchase of significant value it is best to try out the options available, places such as mobility stores and some manufacturers have showrooms – like the Nexus DMS Worcestershire based showroom – where you can sample many of the beds and speak to a friendly and knowledgeable advisor to find the one that best fits your needs or the needs of the person you are purchasing for.

Mattresses are also something to consider when buying an adjustable bed – they usually come in a variety of pressure relief grades from low to very high dependent on how likely the person using the mattress is to get pressure ulcers (bed sores).

Mattress sizes are not standard among suppliers so it is best to check the dimensions of the mattress against the lying surface space on the bed to guarantee compatibility between bed and mattress.

 

You can buy adjustable beds and mattresses to suit from a variety of places including high street furniture stores or specialist manufacturers such as Nexus DMS, who usually have a wider selection to suit almost any need and more specialist options specifically designed for nursing/home care.

Jenny’s Story

“The Nexus Rota-Pro chair bed has changed my life. It has aided my recovery and I have slept through the night since using it, which I haven’t done for years. I would be quite happy if you used my name to promote this amazing solution.” 

 

The challenge:

Jenny has suffered for some time from rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. As a consequence her mobility has been impaired – until recently getting anywhere in the house, even using her walking frame, was incredibly uncomfortable and extremely slow.

She was unable to get her legs in and out of bed by herself, placing a strain upon her husband and putting them both at risk of discomfort and injury.

Jenny’s health was deteriorating because she couldn’t sleep – it was proving impossible to position herself comfortably and as such she was getting no rest or recovery.

The solution:

Then Jenny tried the Nexus Rota-Pro chair bed, bringing her the immediate benefits of a more comfortable, pressure-relieving mattress surface and the capability to adjust every aspect of her sleeping and sitting positions, significantly improving her comfort.

Three infinitely adjustable programmed positions (for lying down, rotating in/out and sitting in a chair position) also brought Jenny a regained independence, allowing her to get herself in and out of bed unaided, for the first time in years.

Outcomes:

- Within three days, Jenny was sleeping through the night, offering much needed respite and recovery that hadn’t been possible for years;

- With this quality sleep came vast improvements to her health, as her body was at last able to recuperate and re-energise;

- Jenny is once again able to get out of bed unaided whenever she likes, preserving valuable energy for both her and her husband, and restoring Jenny’s much prized dignity and independence;

– With her mobility dramatically improved, Jenny can move around her home so much more easily, making day to day tasks so much more manageable and meaning basic needs like going to the toilet are no longer an anxiety-inducing nightmare;

– And, with her autonomy intact, Jenny can continue to function independently at home, preventing the need for costly care provision and reducing the strain on hospital services, now and into the future.

 

Today, November 19^th 2015, is STOP Pressure Ulcer Day across Europe, raising awareness of Pressure Ulcers and how crucial it is that we prevent them.

European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel or EPUAP was created in London in December 1996 to lead and support all European countries in the efforts to prevent and treat pressure ulcers.

The day was set-up to help publicise pressure ulcers, in regards to their prevalence, treatment and the cost that can be saved with prevention as opposed to treatment.

EPUAP has created a one-page factsheet on Pressure Ulcer stages, who’s most at risk and facts such as “the UK national cost of pressure ulcers to the NHS to be between £1,760 million and £2,640 million each year, making pressure ulcers the single most costly chronic wound to the Health Service.” EPUAP (2015)

Read the EPUAP factsheet here

First launched in 2010, World Occupational Therapy Day was conceived by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT), to promote and celebrate Occupational Therapy as a profession internationally.

Occupational Therapy, for those who have never heard the term, is “a client-centred health profession concerned with promoting health and well being through occupation. The primary goal of Occupational Therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this outcome by working with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement.” WFOT (2012)

The WFOT encapsulates 80 national OT organisations so World OT Day is able to promote Occupational Therapy, locally, nationally and internationally. This year WFOT is partnering with Online Technology for Occupational Therapy (OT4OT) to bring the “OT 24 hour Virtual Exchange” to everyone around the world with live online lectures being held on the 2nd and 3rd of November 2015, with experts from all corners of the globe.

For more information on World OT Day please visit http://www.wfot.org/AboutUs/WorldOTDay.aspx to support this celebration of hugely important work!